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The Brexit Vote: A British “Paul Revere” to Prep

Hey there, Ready Nutrition Readers! A tremendous amount of things have been happening in the news, and most of them are important. The people of Great Britain just voted last week in a special referendum: they voted in favor of Britain leaving the EU (European Union). That is huge news, and if you missed it, you certainly will not miss the effects of the vote that will surface this coming week. On Friday, the Dow-Jones Industrial Average plummeted 611 points, and the world markets were thrown into a tailspin. Yes, the Dow is a lagging, not a leading economic indicator, but there’s a great significance to it: a precursor of things to come that have direct effects on you.

One of the pitfalls that we have as a community of prepper-survivalists is that we tend to develop a sort of “tunnel vision” at times that focuses all of our attentions upon what we are doing. We oftentimes tend to discount the significance of day-to-day events that are outside of our daily routines or our geographical spheres of influence: our biomes, so to speak. I wish to stress this very important point before we proceed:

Do not concentrate so much on the “micro” that the “macro” picture slips out of focus

What this means is that it is critical for you to be aware of the news and what is happening around you. Returning to our topic, there will be ripple effects from this Brexit – the British Exit – from the EU, and here are some of the immediate ones:

The Dow will continue to see losses with a large volatility of trading and speculation

The foreign markets – European and Asian – will continue to be thrown into a tailspin

The military and political alliances in the world will be redefined and restructured

Commerce will see sharp monetary fluctuations and devaluations (as in the British pound), as well as major changes in shipping and contracts down to the retail level

It is this last point – the effects on commerce on a global scale – that should particularly alarm and concern us. The Baltic Dry Index measures contracts for raw materials such as oil and ores that are shipped by freighter and container. The Index is (as I’ve mentioned in previous articles) a very sound indicator as to what is happening in terms of commerce. Remember: 75% of the U.S. economy is based on consumer spending. One tie-in that you need to read comes from Mac Slavo of SHTFplan.com posted on April 2, 2012, entitled “Just In Time: When the Trucks Stop, America Will Stop (With Immediate and Catastrophic Consequences).”

Mac’s article cuts to the chase and is one of the finest pieces ever produced that explains the intricacy and fragility of our nation’s dependence upon trucking contracts to keep our economy rolling (no pun intended!).

I also wrote one for SHTFplan.com on January 29, 2016 entitled Report: Store Inventory Levels Reduced Nationwide: “Stock Up Now While You Can!”that you can refer to as a complement to this article. This piece referred to shortages occurring from a retail perspective as the contracts for shipping and trucking are unfulfilled and as the economy collapses. Venezuela and the events happening there are a harbinger of things to come. We are going to see these things here, in our own backyard.

The Brexit vote is akin to a British “Paul Revere” for preppers

Look at the volatility and the fragile state of nations, of alliances of nations, and their interdependent economies. As a prepper and survivalist you are obligated to keep this in mind to enable you to protect and provide for you and your family.

Prices are on the rise, the money supply is not stable, the shipping contracts and transportation contracts are wildly fluctuant, and businesses are shutting their doors or downsizing their staffs by the hundreds per month. This coming week promises a “wild ride” economically, and you will have to make a lot of decisions in a short period of time. As I advocated in articles past, you still have to make sure your bills are paid and you are taking care of financial obligations while society is intact.

Be vigilant in your prepping

It would behoove you, however, to actively add to your emergency fund, allocate a portion of what you can spend after all of your necessities are taken care of – your “disposable income” – and putting it into the supplies and preps that you need, into (even small scale) some precious metals or things that have intrinsic value that can be bartered for when the SHTF.

Keep your eyes on what is happening. You guys and gals read this site and have access to the internet. Keep abreast of what is going on. When things go south, you will know it, and guess what? They are going south: on a daily basis we see the situation with the domestic and the world economy growing worse and worse. It’s just a matter of time before the fiat currency is transformed into completely worthless pieces of paper and inflation returns to the levels found during the Great Depression.

Figure out what percentage you can put into supplies, into medical equipment, into tools, and into things that hold their value that can be bartered. I close with this: in order to heed a warning, you have to recognize it as a warning, and one that has value. Keep up the prepping and stockpiling, and always have an eye on the situation so that you can plan accordingly and when the time comes, act decisively. Britain’s exit from the EU was a “Paul Revere” warning of a Europe that is about to come unglued, along with the respective European economies. Keep that warning in mind, and keep fighting that good fight. JJ out!

Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson was a Special Forces Medic, EMT and ACLS-certified, with comprehensive training in wilderness survival, rescue, and patient-extraction. He is a Certified Master Herbalist and a graduate of the Global College of Natural Medicine of Santa Ana, CA. A graduate of the U.S. Army’s survival course of SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape), Mr. Johnson also successfully completed the Montana Master Food Preserver Course for home-canning, smoking, and dehydrating foods.

Mr. Johnson dries and tinctures a wide variety of medicinal herbs taken by wild crafting and cultivation, in addition to preserving and canning his own food. An expert in land navigation, survival, mountaineering, and parachuting as trained by the United States Army, Mr. Johnson is an ardent advocate for preparedness, self-sufficiency, and long-term disaster sustainability for families. He and his wife survived Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Cross-trained as a Special Forces Engineer, he is an expert in supply, logistics, transport, and long-term storage of perishable materials, having incorporated many of these techniques plus some unique innovations in his own homestead.

Mr. Johnson brings practical, tested experience firmly rooted in formal education to his writings and to our team. He and his wife live in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with their three cats.